Scooter riders concerned about safety

Our local streets are filled with more than just cars and trucks these days; mopeds, bicycles and scooters are sharing the road with them.

Scooters are becoming an economical alternative but riders are concerned about safety when it comes to sharing the road.

Kim Morris, a resident of Carolina Beach, said,”This is a light bike. If we get hit by a car, the car is gonna win.”

Like bicycles, there is no minimum speed limit for scooters and the law requires following traffic to keep a safe distance.

A scooter or moped is considered a motorcycle if it can go over 30 miles an hour, has an external shifter, or has a engine size larger than 50 CC’s.

Police say scooters and bikes aren’t causing many problems when it comes to them sharing the road with cars.

Corporal Franklin Kienast of the WPD Motor Unit, said, “A moped should take charge of his lane and he should ride to the left as much as possible in that lane to take charge of the lane and to keep people from encroaching into his lane.”

An owner must have a license, tags, insurance, inspection, and helmet.